Fraternal

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I am so excited to share with you my first image here with my new 500 lens. Finally got one and I am loving this beast. The light has not been around at all and this shot was taken yesterday which was on a foggy cloudy afternoon. I saw the shot coming so I quick closed down a little more for the dof on both birds. These are both Ibis and I believe the one on our left is a juvenille. I love that they are in different stages of growth yet mirrored poses. NR and selective sharpening crop about 20%
Canon 1DMIV
500mm f4 L IS with 1.4x
ISO 1250
f11 @1/320


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[nrohrbacker]

You are off to good start with the 500, good luck. I really the 'mirror' look and the dark BG with lighter feathers. Makes the image pop.

[Henry Domke]

Wonderful image. The beaks crossing symmetrically really make it.
I thought it seemed a bit dark on my monitor so I adjusted the levels as on the attached screen shot. The white on back of the white bird clipped a bit, so I painted on the layer mask to protect them.

Not sure if you prefer this but on my monitor it seems a bit better.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Wonderful image. The beaks crossing symmetrically really make it.
I thought it seemed a bit dark on my monitor so I adjusted the levels as on the attached screen shot. The white on back of the white bird clipped a bit, so I painted on the layer mask to protect them.

Not sure if you prefer this but on my monitor it seems a bit better.
Hi Henry. I actually like the repost better I will make the same adjustment Thanks so much

[Raymond Lee]

Great capture Cheryl! I love the symmetry of the birds, great contrast between them, and good head angles. Ideally, I wish the perch material at the bottom goes all the way across to the right as well. I also find the photo a bit dark (for some reason "stale" comes to my mind) before seeing Henry's touchup. Congrats on the new lens. Some day I will own one too.

[dankearl]

I prefer the OP, I like The darker BG.Very nice to get both sharp in a nice pose.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Great capture Cheryl! I love the symmetry of the birds, great contrast between them, and good head angles. Ideally, I wish the perch material at the bottom goes all the way across to the right as well. I also find the photo a bit dark (for some reason "stale" comes to my mind) before seeing Henry's touchup. Congrats on the new lens. Some day I will own one too.
Hi Raymond. You saw what I saw after I posted and it started to bug me the more I looked. I decided to take away from the left side to match the right side then I cropped tighter on the right which also moved the birds over a little but I like the feel. WDYT?

[Raymond Lee]

Hi Cheryl, the repost looks great at the bottom, however, because of the nice symmetry you've captured, I still prefer beaks crossing at the center of the frame as in your original post. Anyway you can generate some more twigs? It can be challenging. I kind of started roughly, using a bit of cloning and content aware fill, and it's still has a lot more work to do:

121962

[John Cooper]

A great way to christen you new purchse Cheryl..!! There is wonderful symmetry diplayed here and I feel Raymond's treatment of the perch material does emphasize this symmetry even further. Well seen and taken.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Cheryl, I love the interaction your captured! love the pose and I like Henry's repost adjusting the whites.

I personally would no generate branches etc. We are photographers not photoshopers. The photo is great and strong and doesn't need this kind of manipulation to stand out IMO :)

[David Salem]

Great shot and congrats on the new lens. It will change your already great photography. Like your re-post on pane 7 the best. Was a bit dark. Have fun and look forward to more.

[gail bisson]

Hi Cheryl,
Congrats on your new toy.
Excellent first post with it. Great IQ and subject matter. Lots to learn as a birder with this one.
I like the crossed beaks and your quick thinking re:DOF. I like the repost in pane 7. The lack of nest on right doesn't bother me one iota.
I am with Arash re:rebuilding nest.
Gail

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Thanks everyone for the great input. I did one final round. Wasnt comfortable adding more branches so I just eliminated a little on the left and kept the original symmetry. I also lightened it up some

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Cheryl, congrats on your new toy - seems like everyone is getting one except me. :w3 I would go for central placement with equal space on either side. Well seen to capture the crossed bills, and both stand out against the darker BG.

[Karl Egressy]

Congratulations on your new lens, Cheryl. If you like it now, you'll love it later. I like all the versions of your picture. It's hard to tell the subtle differences.
Great to have a juvi and an adult in the same frame.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Cheryl, congrats on your new toy - seems like everyone is getting one except me. :w3

Don't worry Stuart, I'm keeping you company....

Congrats on the new toy Cheryl! I'm OK with original comp, and with Henry's tweak the image in pane #3 is my fave of the lot. Perfect sharpness, good exposure, nice separation between subject and BG.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Don't worry Stuart, I'm keeping you company....

Congrats on the new toy Cheryl! I'm OK with original comp, and with Henry's tweak the image in pane #3 is my fave of the lot. Perfect sharpness, good exposure, nice separation between subject and BG.
I thought I was the only one who DIDNT have a 500!! Pay Pal baby 18 months no interest!!

[Satish Ranadive]

Congratulations on new lens.
Excellent image.Very nice composition.(I like the repost),great lights and lovely BG.
Love the pose with crossed bills.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

I really enjoyed the original post, but subtle tweaks that led to pane#13 are nice as well.
The well composed interaction between the two birds, and the perfect dof to cover it all,
are brilliant features to the image.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Cheryl! I like the poses, interaction, IQ, dark BG and sharpness. Congrats on the new lens.